Resilience-Informed Vs. Trauma-Informed

🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

A dear friend sits on the board of a community health project in Scotland. She shared that in their meeting this week, there was a discussion to shift towards a Resilience-Informed approach vs a Trauma-Informed approach in community mental health. This is a subtle, but profound shift. It truly resonated with me and I kept thinking about it in my sessions with clients this week. Of course, it is important to note and acknowledge trauma and its impact on human beings. It cannot be ignored. 

However, there is something more hopeful about a Resilience-Informed Approach isn’t there? It acknowledges suffering and trauma while focusing on one’s inherent strengths and resilience in the face of adversity. Sometimes our culture and mental health treatment over-emphasize trauma and that can be limiting, or make someone feel “damaged”, “broken,” or unable to be optimistic about the future.  A Resilience-Informed Model focuses on strengths. A Trauma-Informed perspective can get stuck in focusing on what has been done to someone vs empowering an individual to feel they have control over their outcomes and life—and that the trauma doesn’t solely have to define them. Does this make sense? 

We witness RESILIENCE every day in our office ❤️. It cannot be overstated how truly amazing children and adults are at weathering storms and finding their way back to themselves and safety. 🛟

Ask Yourself:

Have I focused on trauma or resilience in my own life as I review my experiences? How does this make me feel about myself?

What is the narrative that I tell myself about my life experiences and their impact on me?

Do I view my child or children as victims? 

Do I view my child or children as resilient?

How do I think that makes my child feel?

Are there opportunities for struggle and overcoming for my children that I deprive them of?

Any small shifts that I could make?

Be well. 
Happy 4th of July 🇺🇸